I didn't remember it being a particularly weak year -- but in retrospect it kind of was.
You have two bonafide classics -- The Social Network and Inception -- some very strong films and two very rewatchable broad comedies. All in all, this was a year where I didn't have too many favorites outside of my top 10.
I do remember being stunned by the tremendous success of two prestige movies that on paper you wouldn't think would be moneymakers: Black Swan and True Grit. And I remember being appalled that the utterly vanilla King's Speech triumphed at the Academy Awards over the clearly superior Social Network, but of course that was just the beginning of a decade's worth of baffling choices there.
Anyway, here's my top 10 for the year 2010.
10) The Ghost Writer - Roman Polanski is reprehensible -- that being said, this is his last terrific movie worth seeing. A bit of a throwback to the twisty thrillers that made him famous, it centers around a writer (played by Ewan McGregor) who gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to write the autobiography of a disgraced UK lawmaker clearly based on Tony Blair (played exceptionally by Pierce Brosnan). No big pyrotechnics here, but a killer ending is very satisfying.
9) MacGruber - What a strange trip it's been for this totally nutty, gloriously stupid and unapologetically raunchy this SNL-inspired movie. It was an enormous, colossal bomb at the box office, but little by little people have discovered it, found it to be quotable as hell and graced with a kind of a kind of madcap spirit (I love the running gag about MacGruber's obsession with a driver who wronged him). I'm proud to be a part of this movie's cult.
8) The Other Guys - This may have been the last truly inspired Will Ferrell comedy vehicle I'm sad to say and I love the guy. Adam McKay makes this feel like a real throwback buddy action comedy (with Mark Wahlberg proving he is a much better comedic actor than a dramatic one) in the Beverly Hills Cop vein with the two leads as opposites united in their own ineptitude. Scores extra points with a scene stealing Michael Keaton as their captain and its not-so-subtle commentary on the financial crisis amid the mayhem.
7) The Town - This was the movie that made a lot of have to bite our tongues and admit that Ben Affleck is talented. Of course, he hasn't been this hungry since to prove his mettle which might be why this bank robber action drama is so good. He's assembled an impressive cast, including a very hot at the time Jeremy Renner, and created real atmosphere within the underbelly of Boston, which he knows so well from experience. Just a solid from start to finish thriller that doesn't reinvent the genre but gets the job done with vigor.
6) True Grit - The biggest crossover hit of the Coen Brothers career is a very faithful adaptation of the terrific Charles Portis novel of the same name (which became famous as a previous big screen vehicle for John Wayne). Hailee Steinfeld was the breakout star, and rightfully so. Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges is a salty and soused delight as the one eyed marshall she teams up with to hunt down the killer of her father. Straightforward and even a little old fashioned, this is a grand, attractive piece of mainstream entertainment,
5) Toy Story 3 - I came into this second sequel (over 10 years since the last one) pretty skeptical and left thinking it was the best of the series (and one of the best Pixar movies, period). An elegy for growing up couched in a fast-pasted, frequently moving adventure. By now, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen's Woody and Buzz Lightyear have become dear friends that we are invested in, and the finale where they are passed on to a new generation is just one of the most moving scenes that I've ever seen. I haven't watched it in years, but I assume it holds up.
4) Black Swan - Natalie Portman won the Oscar for her incredibly physical performance in this mind bending ballerina drama with elements of horror and surrealism. I'll never know why this batshit crazy movie caught on and director Darron Aronofsky's later exploration of the creation theme Mother!, but I'm thrilled it found an audience and broke through. Portman has done mostly strong work since, but I'd be intrigued to see her and Aronofsky team up again for something strange and beautiful.
3) Shutter Island - A bit of divisive one. A lot of people didn't think much of this Martin Scorsese thriller about an investigation within an old fashioned madhouse that turns out to be as much about the investigators themselves as it is the case they're "on." The twist works for me, as does the film's themes of violence and regret. It's definitely a downer of a movie, but it's fun to see Scorsese working in a milieu that's a little outside of his comfort zone. And DiCaprio is dynamic as yet another one of his wounded, vulnerable heroes.
2) Inception - What a year for DiCaprio! After Shutter Island was a smash early in the year, his Inception (directed by Christopher Nolan, rapidly becoming his own brand at this point) became the most buzzed about movie of the summer. It took me two viewings to fully get it's dream within a dream within a dream logic. And of course if you think about it too hard it's a completely ludicrous premise -- but what an exciting, visually enthralling movie with a gorgeous score, killer cast and some of the most riveting action scenes I've ever seen. It was just the beginning of Nolan's time themed epics, and it's still a blast.
1) The Social Network - This movie instantly felt like a era defining classic and it may be the peak of David Fincher's brooding, stylized filmmaking. Sometimes the movie is mistaken as romanticizing Mark Zuckerberg, but I think it clearly views him as a pathetic figure. It's a fascinating, funny and ultimately infuriating story full of (mostly) reprehensible people acting purely out of self interest. Little did we know that that behavior would continue be normalized and that Facebook would only become more of a bad actor in all our lives. Still, the movie is stunning.
PAST TOP 10 FAVORITE LISTS
1974 #1 movie - The Godfather Part II
1975 #1 movie - Nashville
1976 #1 movie - Taxi Driver
1977 #1 movie - Star Wars
1978 #1 movie - The Deer Hunter
1979 #1 movie - The Jerk
1984 #1 movie - Ghostbusters
1985 #1 movie - Fletch
1986 #1 movie - Blue Velvet
1987 #1 movie - The Untouchables
1988 #1 movie - Coming to America
1989 #1 movie - Batman
1994 #1 movie - Pulp Fiction
1995 #1 movie - Heat
1996 #1 movie - Fargo
1997 #1 movie - Boogie Nights
1998 #1 movie - The Big Lebowski
1999 #1 movie - Eyes Wide Shut
2004 #1 movie - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005 #1 movie - A History of Violence
2006 #1 movie - Casino Royale
2007 #1 movie - There Will Be Blood
2008 #1 movie - The Wrestler
2009 #1 movie - Inglourious Basterds
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